


Prompt Fiction

by remreader



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Blueberries, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Humor, Iron Man 2, Missing Scene, Palladium Poisoning, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Battle of New York (Marvel), Pre-Relationship, Stark Tower, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2020-09-24 03:04:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20351332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remreader/pseuds/remreader
Summary: Decided to make a place to put any short one-shot ficlets & drabbles I write on tumblr.Tags will be updated as needed :)





	1. Blueberries for Gerald

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerald is a chaos alpaca and Tony really likes blueberries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ficlet was requested by yesmooshoe for the prompt "Welcome back. Now fucking help me."
> 
> (she's also an amazing writer - check out her fics [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosh/pseuds/moosh)!)

Tony was in high spirits when he got back from the farmer’s market, arms loaded down with bags of fresh fruit and vegetables and Morgan babbling happily from her perch in the baby carrier strapped to his chest. He saw Pepper waiting for him on the porch and waved the bags at her excitedly.

“They had blueberries! We should try planting some blueberries next year, Pep, apparently they grow really well around here. Do you think Morgan’s old enough to try some? Probably not, right? I bet they’re a choking hazard. Like grapes. And chunks of hot dog. Not that we could grow hot dogs anyway. Maybe if we mashed them up? The blueberries, I mean. Not hot dogs. That’s a good idea, actually, we should make our own baby food! What d'you think?” Tony set down one of the bags and rooted around in it for a handful of berries. “Blueberry?”

“Welcome back.” Pepper said acidly, ignoring the proffered fruit and all of her husband’s rambling. “Now fucking help me.”

Tony gasped theatrically and dropped the rest of the bags he was carrying to the ground so that he could quickly cover Morgan’s ears with his hands. Whatever was upsetting Pepper he was on thin ice and he knew it but he couldn’t help himself and at any rate, self-preservation had never exactly been his strong suit. “_Language_, Potts! There are _children_ present.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Pepper snapped. “And oh look, Morgan’s here too!”

Tony winced. “Well that’s a bit harsh,” he muttered under his breath.

“Do you know what I’ve been doing for the last _hour_?” Pepper asked, in her calm-but-scary business voice that made CEOs quake in their overpriced dress shoes (and left Tony, as usual, a confusing combination of scared and turned on).

Tony surveyed Pepper, noting at last the dirt and green smudges on her face and arms, the bits of leaves and flower petals scattered over her clothes, the feathers sticking out of her hair… “You… lost a pillow fight. To…I wanna say a rose bush?”

“No, Tony. I did not _lose a pillow fight to a rose bush_. I have, in fact, been chasing chickens all afternoon because that fucking _demon _creature _you_ bought-”

“Gerald?”

“Yes _Gerald_, Tony - unless you’ve purchased some other insane animal I don’t know about, in which case I will _actually_ murder you and it’ll be 100% justifiable homicide - decided it would be a great idea to smash in the fence to the chicken enclosure, not to mention trampling half the garden before I was able to get him out of there…”

Pepper stomped over to the garden gate while she spoke, Tony following quickly behind, and presented him with a scene that could best be described as the botanical equivalent of the Battle of New York - all the tomato trellises were knocked over, flower petals and squashed fruit littered the ground, and several pumpkins lay smashed open, the alpaca hoof-shaped holes in their orange corpses leaving no doubt as to the culprit.

“Oh shit.”

“_Language, Stark_.” Pepper teased. She unbuckled Morgan from Tony’s chest and traded him a garbage bag and a rake for their daughter. “Now come on, help me clean up your mess.”

“Wait, I wasn’t even here, how is it _my_-” Tony started to protest.

“_Your_ alpaca, _your_ mess.”

Tony grumbled a bit at that, but he got to work all the same. Soon he was just as sweaty and dirty as Pepper (although decorated with far fewer feathers) and after a few hours’ hard work, just as the sun was starting to set over the horizon, the two of them had successfully restored some semblance of order. They both flopped down onto the garden bench next to Morgan, now sound asleep in her baby carrier, with an exhausted sigh. Tony grabbed a downy brown feather that was still sticking out from behind Pepper’s ear and tickled her nose with it for a few seconds before letting it flutter to the ground; she softened and gave him a small tired-but-happy smile in response.

“I’m sorry, babe.” Tony apologized. “About the mess. And Gerald. He just needs some time to adjust… Anyway, I promise, first thing - well, first thing after we both take a shower that is; I love the whole disheveled farm girl look on you, it’s _very_ hot but no offense, you do smell like _literal_ chicken shit right now -” Pepper glared at Tony again, but fondly this time. “I’m gonna start work on designing a new fencing system for us. Totally alpaca proof.”

“Good.” She stood up from the bench with a stretch and a groan and then pulled Tony to his feet as well. He grabbed the baby carrier in his free hand and they headed back towards the house together.

“Now you’ve gotta try some of these blueberries, they’re-” Tony stopped short, eyes widening as he took in a new scene of carnage before them - the bags he’d brought back from the farmer’s market were now completely flattened, a trail of bright berry juice leading from them to the enclosure where Gerald stood, innocently chewing on some grass. “My _blueberries_!” Tony moaned, devastated.

Pepper laughed all the way to the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not actually relevant to the plot of the story besides that they both involve humans & animals eating blueberries, but the title is a reference to the picture book "Blueberries for Sal" by Robert McCloskey.
> 
> Originally posted on my [tumblr](https://newnewyorker93.tumblr.com/post/187128258791/drabble-thing-61#notes) (obviously)


	2. Tastes Like Metal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of Iron Man 2 Tony-is-dying-of-palladium-poisoning-and-Pepper-doesn't-know angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by the lovely [rebelmeg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelmeg/pseuds/rebelmeg) for the prompt "I’m not going to be sympathetic until you go to a doctor." & originally posted [here](https://newnewyorker93.tumblr.com/post/187197594861/well-since-i-cant-have-all-of-them-i-will#notes).
> 
> (Meg said I couldn't write something angsty for one of the other prompts she requested, so I put all the angst in here *evil grin*)
> 
> This one's a double drabble, so 200 words exactly :)

Tony runs his tongue along the inside of his mouth, grimacing at the metallic tang. Like holding screws between his teeth but lingering, _ wrong_. He wonders if he kissed Pepper right now, if she'd taste it too. If he's literally toxic.

He steals a glance at her, frowning disapproval as she picks him out clothes for another pointless function, and bites back a smirk - she'd probably stomp right through his foot with her stilettos if he tried. He almost wants to do it anyway.

"A modicum of sympathy would be nice, Pepper. I'm dying here." It's a clever line, Tony thinks - truth wrapped in a quip. Temporarily eases the urge to come clean.

“I’m not going to be sympathetic until you go to a doctor.”

He could tell her it wouldn't make a difference if he _ did _ go; could lift his shirt, show her the dark jagged lines almost edging past his collar. But he doesn't. He just laughs.

"I'm fine," he lies.

Pepper sighs; she knows he's hiding something. She's just wrong about what. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts."

It's better this way, he thinks, and he watches her walk away.


	3. Just 'A' Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little post-Battle of New York scene with Tony & Pepper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by [rebelmeg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelmeg/pseuds/rebelmeg) for the prompt "I lost our baby." & originally posted [here](https://newnewyorker93.tumblr.com/post/187520638046/guess-who-finally-finished-another-prompt).

The streets were still cordoned off for several blocks around the tower, emergency crews working even at this late hour to clear away the aftermath of the clash between six hastily assembled superheroes and a seemingly infinite alien army, so after Happy took them as close as they could get by car Tony and Pepper traveled the last stretch on foot, walking quietly hand-in-hand. They could've flown home, of course. Used one of Tony's suits (not Pepper's preferred mode of transportation, not by a long shot but still, an option) or better yet, taken advantage of the lovely little helicopter landing pad that Tony was reasonably certain was still functional after Loki's occupation of the tower. 

Tony told Pepper that he wanted to see the damage from the battle and that was true, he did. He was already itching to start assessing what he could do to fix things, where and how to allocate resources to start picking up the mess he - no, _they_. (That was something that would take some getting used to, the plurality. Being a team player, whatever his SHIELD file said to the contrary.) - had made of the city. It wasn't the whole truth though. Tony was still processing everything that had happened and was nowhere near any conclusions but still...he thought it might be best to keep his feet on the ground, literally, for a little while.

When they were about a block away from the tower Tony stopped abruptly. He spun Pepper around and put his hands on her shoulders. "I have to tell you something, before we get there." He said, very seriously.

"...ok?"

"I lost our baby." 

Pepper looked confused. "What are you talking about?" She reached out to brush his hair back, a little concerned. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard earlier?"

Tony tried again. "Maybe that's not the right word…I broke our baby? At the very least it was reckless endangerment. Child protective services should definitely be called. Um, metaphorically."

He directed her gaze upwards and waved his hand ruefully at the letters - well, _letter_ \- illuminating the side of the building, hundreds of feet up in the air. "Look, it's not even Stark Tower anymore," he grumbled. "It's just 'A' Tower."

"Of course it wasn't really _me_, strictly speaking," Tony continued. "It was mostly the not-so-Jolly Green Giant and the aliens. And Loki. (Do you think Asgardians have insurance? We should have legal look into that.) The penthouse...ok, I will admit I did personally break the penthouse window but I swear it was completely involuntary, on my part…" 

He trailed off as Pepper struggled to bite back a grin at his characteristic rambling. "Anything else I should know?" she asked.

"Well aliens are real and so are magic and gods and I _died_-" A bit of a hysterical edge started to creep into Tony's voice. Pepper wrapped an arm around him and squeezed tight; he quickly switched to a deliberately (and transparently) nonchalant tone and continued, "-and seriously, Pep, how have we _never_ tried shawarma before?"

Pepper ignored Tony's attempt at deflection. "We can rebuild," she said, rubbing his back reassuringly. "We can fix it."

"Right. Of course, yeah." He smiled slightly, and nodded, but privately he wondered if they could. If he could. As for the tower...he was starting to think maybe they shouldn't rebuild it, at least not the same. 'A' Tower… He could work with that. Maybe even make something great, out of the ruins. Phoenix from the ashes, it _was_ kind of his brand… He took Pepper's hand again. "Let's go home."

They walked the rest of the distance to Stark Tower quickly, through the glass doors and into the private elevator that was still working and blissfully free of sweaty workmen. It was a long ride to the top floor and, shoving the thought whatever might be waiting for him in the days to come to the back of his mind, Tony let himself enjoy the moment, at least for a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (just as a side note, rebelmeg wrote one of my favorite post-Battle of New York fics, [Falling Into Your Arms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14615592), and I was definitely thinking of it when I wrote this)


	4. Prelude to a Dying Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An angsty little intro to Tony recording his dying message to Pepper at the beginning of Endgame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by the wonderful [xxx-cat-xxx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxx_cat_xxx) for the prompt "I feel like I can't breathe." (with a specific request for some Tony whump) & originally posted [here](https://newnewyorker93.tumblr.com/post/187743200486/i-feel-like-i-cant-breathe-tony-whump-maybe).
> 
> Another double drabble, so 200 words exactly :)

Tony pressed his forehead against the _ Benatar's _ window, the cool glass mildly comforting against his pounding headache. He couldn't help the wry grin that came to his face at the thought - cold comfort, literally. _Wi__sh you could see this, Pep_. _ Hell of a view out here. So much I almost feel like… _ Tony touched his fingers to the glass hesitantly, like if he pushed too hard he might break right through and join the stars. _ ...I can't **breathe**, looking at it. _

_ Getting ahead of myself there, aren't I? _ He laughed bitterly, the jerking motion pulling painfully against his half-healed wound and making his empty stomach feel even more nauseous, something he hadn't thought possible. _ But I guess you're used to that with me. I know, I shouldn't joke but...it's not going to be pleasant. Dying, I mean. Like this. I'm about to lie to you about that, by the way. Please don't hate me for it. _

Tony pushed himself off the window with a sigh and knelt in front of his helmet, lying on the floor almost as broken as its maker. "This thing on?" He tapped and a familiar light washed over him, recording.

"Hey, Miss Potts… Pep."


	5. Rub-a-Dub-Dub, One Alpaca in the Tub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper finds a few unexpected surprises waiting for her at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rebelmeg gave me the prompt "bath + Gerald" from a list of one-word prompts, so here's a silly little 100-word snippet of Gerald-related shenanigans!

"Hey, Pep!"

"What the...do I even want to know?"

"Ah, yes. So. There's actually a perfectly rational explanation for this, if you could just give me a sec to-"

"Tony. There is a _llama_ in our _bathtub_."

"An alpaca, actually! Common mistake, don't worry about it. His name is Gerald, and-"

"No, you know what? I'm gonna need a drink before you finish that sentence."

"Ok, that's fair. We'll just...wait here..."

—

"Hmm, probably should've warned her-"

** _"TONY!!"_ **

"And there it is. Gerald, I think we can safely assume that Miss Potts has found the chickens..."

[sympathetic alpaca noises]


End file.
